String args[] vs. String[] args

[Joseph Sweet]

Sometimes I see:

public static void main(String args[])

But sometimes I see:

public static void main(String[] args)

How come? What is the difference... or maybe I should ask, why two ways?

Thanks.

[marc weber]

I just posted some of my notes on this in this thread. Also see JLS - 10.2 Array Variables for more detail.

Note: Many people prefer the brackets next to the type rather than the identifier (that is, String[] s instead of String s[]) because it's more clear that the type is a String array.

[Bob Ruth]

stricly personal preference

[Amit Ghorpade]

Hi
to add in, String[] args type of declaratio causes all the variable on the right side to be arrays but String args[] does not.



Hope this helps

[Peter Chase]

As people have already said, it makes no difference to the behaviour, except in the case of declaring multiple variables in one line. And, frankly, if you declare some Strings and some arrays of Strings, all in one line, you deserve to be forced to write Visual Basic for the rest of your career.

I think the "String args[]" version is one of the features of the Java language that was put in to help to make C programmers feel a bit more at home. It deserves to be ignored by all right-thinking Java programmers.

Just my humble opinion of course ;-)
[ July 03, 2007: Message edited by: Peter Chase ]

[Campbell Ritchie]

I could hardly agree with you more, Peter Chase. It gets confusing when people write

int number, value, count, digits[], amount;

Only digits is an array. Even worse is

int[] number, value, count, digits[], amount;

There everything is a [] array except digits which is a [][] array, but it is very easy to overlook that feature in a quick glance at the code.

[Dawei Li]

String args[] is old definition
String[] args is new definition.
The both have same function.
But the java recommends the new.